


What Right

by ac_MaryAgnes



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carl Grimes is a perfect cinnamon roll, F/M, Nebraska, Rick Grimes Needs a Hug, S2EP9, S2Ep7, S2Ep8, Shane is a manipulative asshole, Triggerfinger, baby reveal, but Lori loves him anyway, fight me, lying saves lives, pretty much dead already, too good for this world, too pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 12:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15073463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ac_MaryAgnes/pseuds/ac_MaryAgnes
Summary: "You hurt her, I'll come after you."That difficult discussion has a different ending.





	What Right

**Author's Note:**

> "You loved me - then what right had you to leave me? What right - answer me - for the poor fancy you felt for Linton?" - Emily Bronte (Heathcliff: 'Wuthering Heights') 
> 
> Ak-ak-ak. I keep waiting for this well to dry up but it hasn't yet. 
> 
> As before, unbeta'd.

Lori and Rick stood just off the road, leaning on the fences that led to the Greene’s farmhouse.

“You’re _sure_?” Rick asked her, voice breaking and low. “You’re sure that it’s… That it couldn’t be-“

“The timing, Rick.” She was so tired. Lori didn’t want to fight anymore. She couldn’t. “The days all kind of run together, but I missed a period right when you came back. I put it down to stress at the time, told myself as soon as we found a good place to stop, it would come back. But that’s… that’s not what happened.”

Rick bit his lips, chin dipping to his chest, and released a slow, shaky breath. “He know yet?”

Lori shook her head and pushed a hand through her hair. “I hadn’t even gotten around to telling you yet, Rick.”

Her husband (ex-husband?) jerked his shoulders and let out a scornful sort of huff. “You didn’t even tell me you were with him while I was gone until you had to, Lori.”

She just wanted to lie right down and die. Go out into a field and wait for death to take her, or for walkers – which ever came first. She really made a mess of everything. Pushing herself off the fence post, Lori crossed her arms tight around her torso and paced a few steps away from him, then turned back.

“I’m not going to make you handle this, Rick. It’s my problem, and I’ll deal with Shane when I tell him. My stuff will be out of the tent tonight – I’ll find someplace else to stay. I’ve…” Lori hung her head and sneered at herself. “I’ve screwed you around long enough.”

He let her keep walking, not bothering to watch her. He couldn’t. He could hardly look at her. He’d loved her so much, fought _so_ hard to find out what had happened to his family. And it turned out… they hadn’t needed him at all. They’d moved on, and with his best friend. Did they even mourn him? Before they fell into bed together? Did it start before the virus broke out? Or before he’d been shot?

He raked his fingers over his face and forced himself to move on from that thought. None of that mattered now, not really. It felt like… like that scene from Temple of Doom, where the guy’s heart had been ripped out so he could be a sacrifice. Rick felt empty inside, and cold, and like he couldn’t breathe. Weary all the way down to his bones, he was, like he’d aged a thousand years in five minutes. It was like he was dying: dying and dying, over and over again. There was no end to it.

* * *

Shane was fucking around with the tractor, keeping a weather eye on the barn when she found him. He looked up when she approached but sneered when she stopped a few feet away from.

“What, you actually gonna talk to me now?”

“Yeah,” she snapped. “Alone and where no one might over hear us, if we could.”

Shane hid his surprise behind a wall of impatience and limped out towards the woods well away from the barn, flipping his cap out of his back pocket and jamming it on his head. He didn’t check to see if she was following, just continued on and stopped about 20ft past the tree line. After a moment he turned to her, eyes guarded as he braced a loose fist against a tree trunk.

“Well?”

Lori swallowed. It was like a band-aid, she told her self; just get it over with. “I’m pregnant. You’re the father. Rick knows.” There: everything out all at once. Ball totally in his court. Well, not _totally_. “I don’t care if you want to be involved. I’m having the baby and I’ll do it on my own.”

Shane felt his brain stutter. “Wha….” He blinked a few times and took a hesitant step forward. “You’re… and it’s mine?”

“No,” she corrected firmly, “it’s _mine_. It just happens to be a result of… of us.”

Shane’s face changed and for a moment Lori was thrown. Pain and anger had become so much a part of Shane that seeing his look of gentle awe was almost like seeing a completely different person. He shook his head and took another step towards her.

“You can fight me every step of the way, lady, I don’t care. That’s my baby and I’m gonna be there.”

“Shane, I don’t want-“

“I really don’t care,” he told her, closing the remaining distance between them. “I’m done playing by your rules, Lori. I’ve done nothing but what you want this whole damn time and it’s brought us nothing but grief. I’m tired of looking at you and… and feeling like my heart’s breaking. And it does, _every_ time I see at you or Carl, over and over again. We’re in a goddamn apocalypse and the worst part – the _worst_ part, Lori – is what you’ve put us through.” He shook his head, and his words were hard but his voice was soft and there was a smile on his face. “No more of that. I’m gonna do everything I need to so I can protect you and that baby, and you’re damnwell gonna let me.”

“I don’t belong to you, Shane Walsh,” she warned, hard fire in her hazel eyes. He just chuckled and ducked his head, then looked back up at her.

“No, but you belong _with_ me and that’s the way it’s gonna be, girlie.” 

* * *

When Hershel went missing, Rick was the first to volunteer to go after him. Shane could protect Lori and Carl, work with Daryl and T-Dog to protect the farm. Carl had Lori and Lori had Shane and Rick wasn’t needed at all. If something happened to Rick, well… Glenn would get Hershel back to the farm just fine. Lori needed a doctor for the baby, and Rick was expendable so off he went, risking his life because who the hell cared about him anyway?

It didn’t matter that both Lori and Shane tried to keep him back, tried to appeal to his better nature. Rick knew the truth.

And Lori – oh, Lori felt so guilty. She knew what she’d done to that good man. She’d taken all his wonderfulness and crushed it under her boot, like the most beautiful flowers meant nothing at all to her. Someone had to go after him – she knew that. She saw the look on his face as he left and knew. Rick didn’t care if he came back alive or dead… or walking.

Shane wasn’t gonna go; she knew that without even asking. And if Dale was right – that Shane had sacrificed Otis to save himself… well, Lori wasn’t sure what she thought about that. Shane was many things, not all of them good or even morally comfortable, but a murderer? She just wasn’t sure she believed it. On the other hand, if he had killed Otis, it had been for Carl. How could she be angry at the loss of a man she didn’t even know when it saved her little boy? She didn’t tell Dale that; he already had a problem with his judgey eyes.

T-Dog was working with Andrea when the remains of the other walkers, so Lori tried to get Daryl to go. But something was going on with that man, something Carol couldn’t even reach.

So Lori slipped out. As much as she didn’t want to risk the baby, she grabbed a car and a map and headed in the direction of town. She didn’t know the way exactly, had never needed to know it, but that was fine. She could read a map. Mostly.

* * *

Shane promised himself he wasn’t gonna yell at her, but when he saw the wrecked car and the remains of the Walkers, he thought he was going to have an aneurism.

“ _Goddamn_ ,” he breathed, bringing his hands to his head as he tipped his head back and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes he asked whoever the hell was listening to grant him some fucking patience with that hardheaded woman.

He found her a mile or so down the road, arms wrapped around her waist as she walked. His heart leapt into his throat as he stopped the hatchback and hopped out.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine.” She sounded tired and annoyed, but she was alive.

“You ain’t _fine_ ; I saw the wreck,” he told her. She pulled her hands away when he reached for them, and for a second he clenched his jaw but let it go; there were bigger things to check on at the moment. No blood on her legs or over her abdomen; hopefully that was a good sign and there was no internal damage.

“Let me look at you,” he told her, bring out his flashlight to shine on her face. He pushed her hair out of the way and cursed under his breath when he saw the bruises and cuts, the blood on her forehead. He moved to check her pupils. “What happened?”

“I need to go find Rick,” she told him, trying to push him out of her way.

“In a second. Put your hands down.” He grabbed one of her hands and held it down as he inspected her face and eyes. He kept on holding it even when he was finished and hoped she was distracted enough not to notice. “Tell me what happened.”

“Looking at the map and a Walker came out.” Her voice was sullen as she admitted her own fault.

“You stay at the farm, you won’t need a map, girlie.” He took a deep breath and got a handle on himself. Sometimes he just wanted to shake this woman. “Come on, I gotta get you back.”

Lori had a mulish look on her face. “Nono, Shane. I gotta find Rick and Glenn.”

“They’re back at the farm, Lor,” he sighed. He was tired and didn’t want to bother with a fight. The lie came easy and rolled out of his mouth without any trouble at all. He’d do anything to get her back to the farm, to a controlled environment where he could keep an eye on her.

“Really?” The moonlight put hope in her eyes and Shane felt a little starstruck by it. “You saw them and they’re all okay? Hershel, too?”

“Safe and sound. Come on,” he reached out to her, fingers brushing her arm. “I’ll take you back.”

Shane concentrated on keeping both hands on the wheel as he drove them back in silence. He wanted to reach a hand over and hold her leg, or her stomach where his child grew – wanted to physically remind himself that they were safe and the worst hadn’t happened – but he knew better. She wasn’t going to allow that sort of thing, not right now. So he kept them at ten and two, knuckles white the whole way back.

* * *

When they got back to the farm, she was mighty pissed he’d lied to her. If everyone else hadn't been so happy to see her, she would've hollered to high heaven. He was used to her death glare, though, and ignored it. They’d talk about it later and he’d let her spill that piss and vinegar all over him if she wanted. She was safe, the baby was safe, and that was all that mattered to him.

After a brief check-over, Dale – in his limited knowledge – gave Lori a clean bill of health, though he recommended taking it easy for the rest of the night. He made pointed, judgemental eyes at Shane as he left, following Andrea like the pathetic old man he was.

As Lori swung her feet up onto the couch in the front parlour, Shane went to get some things for her from the Grimes family tent. Like hell would she be sleeping on a cot outside after the way he’d found her car. Carl hesitated not wanting to lose sight of his mom after almost losing her, but ultimately followed him. He wanted to help take care of his mom because that’s what men did. When they got back, the hard fire in Lori’s eyes told Shane they needed a moment alone.

“Hey bud,” he knelt down to look Carl in the eye. “Your mom should probably have some water and maybe something to eat. Think you could get that done for her?”

Carl shot an anxious glance at his mom and Shane smiled. The boy was growing into a damn fine protector.

“I’ll watch her. You go on and see what Maggie and Patricia got in the kitchen. We’ll be right here when you get back. Go on, now.”

Carl nodded and started towards the door before stopping. He turned and dashed over to where his mom lay, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tight. As soon as it started, he was off and out the door again.

“I can’t believe you lied to me,” she hissed at Shane as the boy left.

“Can’t you? You go off doing reckless shit and you think I’m not gonna do what I have to to get you back to safety?”

“Someone has to to go after them, Shane. Rick and Glenn have been gone too long.”

Shane’s lips thinned and he shook his head. “So you decide to leave, without telling anyone where the hell you were goin’? Makin’ us all outta our minds worrin’ for you, makin’ Carl think you left him alone?”

Lori looked at him, stricken. “Shane-“

“Naw, don’t you pull that with me. You put yourself on the line – put our baby’s life in danger – and you completely ignored the kid you got already. I mean, kid can hardly stand to leave you alone right now. You once told me you were a good mother? Well start actin’ like it.”

That stung and it made her mad, because he was kind of right. She hadn’t thought about Carl at all when she’d left. Not that she’d ever admit that out loud. “I had to go after him, Shane.”

“Oh did you?”

“After what we did-“

“Let me tell you somethin’,” Shane sat himself on the edge of the couch and leaned in close over her, one arm braced against the back, their faces close enough she could feel his breath against her cheek. “Rick’s inability to deal with reality ain’t your responsibility anymore. Never was in the first place. He’s mad we got something between us? Wants to go on freakin’ suicide missions ‘cause he’s forgotten he’s got a son lookin’ up to him? It ain’t your job to run off after him. Your job from now on is to protect your boy and that baby we’re gonna have.”

Shane’s eyes softened as he took in the scrapes and darkening bruises on her face. Slowly, he brought a careful hand to cup her cheek. Running his thumb over her smooth skin, he sighed.

“We’re gonna have to be a team here, Lor. I told you before, you can’t go off half-cocked like that. We’ve all been through too much at this point. It ain’t right.”

“If we’re a _team_ then why the hell do you keep lying to me? My husband is at the farm. My husband is dead-“

Shane tsked and looked away from her, pulling back and shaking his head. “Goddamn it, Lor, how long are you gonna hold that over me? I told you how it was. I know you’re pissed right now, but you gotta let that one go.”

She didn’t say anything, only glared at him, her eyes accusing him of all sorts of other sins she wouldn’t dare say. The more he thought about it, the more he realised he didn’t mind; let her blame him for the whole damn apocalypse as long as it kept her safe.

Carl came back in quietly, thin arms struggling to balance the tray of food.

“There’s a good man,” Shane praised, standing up from the bed to help the boy into the room. “You’re gonna be a good big brother when the time comes, you know that?”

“Big brother?” Carl’s head popped up, confusion making him frown.

Shane looked over at Lori and good lord, wasn’t she just gonna kill him. Oh well. Not his fault she hadn’t told the boy yet.

She swallowed and gestured her son over to her side. “Yeah, love. You’re gonna be a big brother in a few months.”

“Does dad know?”

Shane coughed and hid a smile. Lori shot him another glare and took a big breath, schooling her features before she attempted to answer her son. “He knows. Um… We were trying the right time to tell you. We never gave you the talk, did we?”

Carl shrugged, sheepish. “Guess you forgot.”

Shane whistled and shook his head. “Oh boy.”

“Knock it off, Shane,” Lori growled. He gave a dark chuckle and set the food tray over her knees.

“You eat that, lady. I’ll take care of this.” He put a gentle hand on Carl’s shoulder and tugged him towards the door. “Come on, little man. Your mom ain’t goin’ anywhere for a while, but you and I got some stuff we gotta discuss.”

Carl shot one last concerned look at his mother before he allowed himself to be guided out of the house. Shane stopped them by the cars – well in sight of the house and driveway in case they were needed or if Rick came home. He pulled the truck’s gate down and hefted himself onto the edge, patting the spot next to him for Carl to scramble up into.

“So,” he started on a sigh. But Carl surprised him.

“Just because my mom and dad forgot to talk to me about sex doesn’t mean I don’t know what it is, Shane.”

Letting out a startled laugh, Shane looked down at the boy. “Is that so? Well, can’t say I’m surprised; you’re a smart boy. I knew all kinds’a stuff when I was your age. Your dad took a little while to catch on, though.” He chewed carefully over his next words. “I love you, Carl. You know that, right? I always have, but while your dad was gone, I fell hard for you and your mom. You guys became my family, and I’d do anything to make sure you two were safe and happy. Your mom and I, we really loved each other, you know? Still do, actually, even though your mom’s been fighting it since your dad came back. But she and I, we got something between us and the baby is part of that.”

Carl looked at him with Rick’s eyes; clear, suspicious, and judgemental. “Did you steal my mom from my dad?”

And Shane thought about it for a good long minute before he answered. He wouldn’t lie to this boy. “I didn’t mean to, Carl. And if your dad had never been shot and the world hadn’t gone the way it has, I’d never even think of it. But a woman like your mom, once she’s in your system, man, she is hard to quit.”

Carl looked at his lap and fiddled with his fingers, piecing things together in his mind. “It stopped as soon as dad came back though, didn’t it?”

Shane nodded, watching the boy carefully. “Yeah. It would have been wrong with your dad around. Especially since they’re still married and all.”

“Aren’t they married now?”

Shane licked his bottom lip and looked off to the side before he answered. “Technically, I guess. But rules change sometimes. Ain’t exactly any lawyers or judges around to get them divorced, are there?”

“So are they just going to stay married while you and mom are together?” ‘Cause that didn’t seem right at all.

“ _God_ I hope not,” Shane grumbled, and scrubbed a hand over the prickly hair on his head. “No, I think your mom and dad are separating and I’m gonna figure out with your mom how to raise your new brother or sister.”

Carl was silent for a long time. So long, Shane started to become afraid. Would Carl turn from him like Lori had tried to? Like Rick had?

“You really love my mom?” the boy’s voice was small and careful.

“Yeah, Carl,” Shane admitted, matching his tone. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, or you.”

Carl nodded to himself, coming to some conclusion. He jumped off the tailgate and turned to face Shane. Solemn blue eyes eyed him carefully. “You hurt her, I’ll come after you.”

Shane nodded. “That day comes, I’ll want you to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Why - WHY - do I keep writing these things?
> 
> Come find me at itsmaryagnes.tumblr.com and tell me to stop.
> 
> (Also, not sure if the car was technically a hatchback or a crossover. Hatchback sounded better in my head though, so I hope you're not too picky about that.)


End file.
